“I recently did a film-out test of images captured using Canonâ€™s XL H1 HDV camcorder,” Billups revealed, “and what it can do is absolutely mind-boggling.”

“There was a room full of people, some heavily vested in other, far more expensive camera systems, and they were shocked; they couldnâ€™t believe it,” Billups confided of the XL H1 test. “The test was screened for a packed house that included people from major motion picture industry standards groups. It was just amazing.” Billups said that the XL H1â€™s “real genlock-out feature and HD-SDI also blew everybody away.” He added that he has a “substantial” motion-picture cinematography assignment coming up for which he is seriously considering using the XL H1 “for pickups, second cameras, and location stuff. Until you really shoot with the XL H1, play with it, and print it to film, you really canâ€™t tell until itâ€™s up on the screen. The XL H1 is ready to go,” he affirmed.

Billups had special praise for the 24F feature of the XL H1 as well. “Canon’s 24F system produces an output that looks and feels like 24- frame movie film,” he says. “While the technology is a closely guarded Canon secret, the proof is in the image. When digitally projected or printed to film, the image from the XLH1 compares more closely to those of ultra-high-end HD cameras than it does to the growing assortment of consumer HDV camcorders.

“The pixel block on the XL H1 is state of the art,” Billups added. “The cups (microscopic portions of the XL H1â€™s three 1440 by 1080 CCD imaging chips that takes the incoming light and turns it into electrical signals) are more tightly packed than those on more expensive digital cinematography cameras.

Reiterating his earlier comments, Billups feels that the XL H1â€™s digital compression capabilities are what truly makes it ready for serious moviemaking. “The XL H1 also has a very far-advanced chip set,” he observed. “The future of all HD recording is based on good, new compression algorithms. The best production package for the next generation of digital movies will be based on the best compression. Compression is basically the management of data. The cleaner the signal, the better it compresses, the nicer the images it makes. Thatâ€™s what the Canon XL H1 does; itâ€™s a new-world camera.”

Silly question. Will the “Professional JackPack” help at all if your first camera doesn’t have one? Or will it only help if your second camera has the same deal? Anything you can do in post to lock it up?